Is there ANY advantage to hiring anything but economy skis?

Hi guys,

I've been skiing regularly since 1988 and every year I have hired the cheapest skis I can find.

Although I will never win any awards for style, I can ski pretty competently on all but the most vertical slopes. (last season I skied down every single slope in Grandvalira except Riberal and that was only because it was well and truly fenced off all week for competition use only).

Each year I pretty much ski non stop from the first lift to the last and I have a really good time doing it.

I'm just doing the rounds again for my next trip (and it's looking like £23 for 7 days hire in Les Deux Alpes) but I wondered if anyone thinks that hiring anything other than the cheapest economy skis could possibly increase my enjoyment in any way?

My "cheapest" skis are always in good condition with good edges and waxed and allow me complete control while skiing - I rarely fall more than once each season. To my untrained eye, they look no different to everyone else's skis so what do you get for the extra money - or is it just a snob tax?

Just curious...

(FYI I like to maximise my time on the slopes by traversing slopes as much as possible and only go hell for leather downwards if needed to get over a flat bit)

Chris

Its a great question and I will be keen to read the responses myself. I have no idea by the way. For what its worth I tend to go for the range one up from the cheapest range. I had assumed that the cheapest were a good few years old and might be suffering from a bit more wear and tear but maybe with no noticeable impact from your experience.

£23! Cheapest ever week for me was probably last season in Are, Sweden approx £80 for the week. That was for their top rated ski, new that year.

Paying around £120 for our upcoming trip. If I shopped around in Val d'Isere I could probably find some economy skis for maybe £80 but not worth the effort frankly. We tend to pick a hire shop because it's centrally located with new kit in for the season and the ability to leave our boots and skis there overnight (and the ability to swap skis to another set for no extra charge).

Thanks for the replies so far

RE: "We tend to pick a hire shop because it's centrally located with new kit in for the season and the ability to leave our boots and skis there overnight (and the ability to swap skis to another set for no extra charge)."

I got all of that last year for £32 for 7 days hire - a ski in, ski out shop with heated storage (including my own boots) and I switched my skis for free after a day because I was trying a new length out (at their recommendation) but I didn't get on with it (it caused my only fall that week). They also waxed them half way through the week for me.

This year is cheaper because I am skiing earlier in the season (late Jan instead of the usual half term). The shop is at the base of the main gondola so couldn't be more convenient. There actually were cheaper places but they were much further out. FYI: Their best skis are £66.

The trick is to book through 3rd party sites which give between 40-60% discount.

The economy skis that I have had have been OK, but a bit battered. Most had reasonable edges that would have been useful, had I known how to use them. I'm with Markinkent on this one - I now tend to go for the intermediate skis - about the same level as my skiing, and less battered than some of the economy skis I've had. My understanding is that the economy skis are a few years old; the more you pay, the newer the ski, but also some of the advanced skis are a bit stiffer and need more skiing (if that makes sense)

bedrock barney wrote:£23! Cheapest ever week for me was probably last season in Are, Sweden approx £80 for the week. That was for their top rated ski, new that year.

Paying around £120 for our upcoming trip. If I shopped around in Val d'Isere I could probably find some economy skis for maybe £80 but not worth the effort frankly. We tend to pick a hire shop because it's centrally located with new kit in for the season and the ability to leave our boots and skis there overnight (and the ability to swap skis to another set for no extra charge).

BB!!! £80, £129??? The last pair of skis I bought only cost about £100, including bindings..... OK, they were on sale, at 50% 0ff, and I asked for a ski instructor discount, (without actually mentioning that was 40 years ago),20% off, and at the till, my taxi driver/ski instructor friend slipped me his local tennis club card, another 20% off.

The lowest cost pair of skis that I have bought were just £47 for a pair of Volkl. They are straights, not carvers, and they are the skis I use most in Niederau. Hmmm, where I keep 6 pairs.

I commend Kowal for the subject and his view. Also Dobbie.

This winter will be my 50th year since starting to ski. Included in that are several seasons instructing in Niederau. In the early days, you were viewed as slightly effeminate, if you skied on anything less than 210/215s. My wife skied on 195s. Not carvers, all straight. No piste machine, no groomed slopes.

I hire, sometimes through J2Ski, and other third parties. I always ask for the bottom level. My frau goes for the middle level, and sons always go for top level.

When the skis appear in the hire shop, I hand test my for lateral and torsional stiffness. If too stiff, I ask for another pair, and I do this prior to boot fitting, so I don't waste the shop time. I have occasionally taken skis back for change, but not often. My frau seems always to be happy.
My sons often seem to have their turns inhibited. (they are both really good skiers, but never paid much attention to ski gear). I would guide them back to the hire shop, and get softer skis, (reinforcing the point that Dobbie made), then things are good.

Should the skis be too soft, they tend to "chatter", at speed. (Bang together at the tips) With the improvements in technology, that doesn't seem to happen much now.

Dobbie mentioned that basic level skis may be a few seasons old. I have never found that. My hire friend in Niederau says that none of his skis are more than 2 seasons old. Oh, and in my loft, I have a pair of ex-hire skis that I "rescued" from a skip outside a hire shop in Soll.

A long time back, I bought a pair of Blizzard Firebirds, these were to be my teaching skis. I taped them up, to protect them from beginners skiing over them. They were 26 years old when I donated them to a museum in Colorado, and bought my first pair of K2s, Merlin carvers, 2m long, now 19 years old,and I still give them an airing most winters. Great to ski on, but only in fast forceful turns.

My £47 pair of skis in action....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5SbCO9cIS4 (only 36 seconds long)

Personally I would always go for the best you can afford. Skis are a bit like car tires; a tire is a tire until you do a stopping test and you will see that some are about 50% better than others. Plus the most expensive options seem to offer super shape skis etc which are far easier and more fun to ski on than straights/planks.